Sicily itinerary and accommodation suggestions
 

Hello,

I have this itinerary and wondered if anyone has suggestions to tweak and/or accommodation suggestions. I thank you all in advance.
Solo traveler from Canada to Sicily. I will stay approximately 10 days but I can extend it to 12 to 13. I don't want to rush through it.
Any must sees for history, Baroque, medieval - I am open to all
Bilboburger gave me some great links in my other thread for transportation options and I will research those.
If anyone has used a particularly good day trip guide, I would love the recommendation.
I am looking for accommodations (approx 120-150 Euros a night max) close to the historical centers for evening walks and meals
Fly from Canada ? to Palermo - Easy jet to Palermo
3 nights in Palermo -
- day trips ?
2 nights bus or train to Agrigento
- evening guided walk
3 nights Siracusa * by train or bus (stay in Ortiga)
- day trip on own to Ragusa (bus?)
- day trip on own Erice (bus?)

I would like to find:
a couple of days at an easily accessible beach
a day trip to Mt Etna
lots and lots of history which is my primary reason for visiting Sicily
cooking class

Thanks for all the help.

In Palermo we stayed at the Hotel Joli which is a short distance from the Teatro Politeama, one of the stops for the airport bus.


If going to Erice, it is a day trip from Palermo, not Siracusa as suggested by your listing. But I would go to Monreale rather than Erice.

Thanks Michael. Great tips.

Hi, Kelsey -

I agree with Michael about Montreale -- the cathedral and cloisters there are, IMO, magnificent. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the cathedral in Cefalu, which might suit your desire to spend time along a beach.

Perhaps you already know that there are two different types of day trips to Mt. Etna -- one that gives you time at the top and one that focuses on the wineries around the base.

You will be surrounded by history in any of these places. There is a LOT to see in Palermo and in Siracusa, particularly given your interest in history. With only 3 nights, your time for day trips will be limited. (But you'll have time for Monreale.) If you do take a day trip from Siracusa, Noto might be easier than Ragusa, and Noto is charming. You might want to see if you can visit the underground shelter / bunker from WWII in Ortigia.

It's been a long time since I was there, but in Ortigia, I loved my stay at L'Approdo delle Sirene. It still gets good reviews. https://www.apprododellesirene.com/

If you are going to spend only three nights in Ortigia, and plan to do a day trip to Mt Etna (note: this will be a very, very long day), I would skip a day trip to Noto or Ragusa. Ortigia is lovely and there's more than enough to see and do for a week, so you will not be bored. The Neapolis Archeological Park in Syracuse is wonderful, especially with a guide. There are also many options for cooking classes in Ortigia, some of which include going to the market (disclaimer: we did our cooking class in Taormina, so cannot give a personal recommendation for Ortigia). We loved Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, and stayed overnight, and found the 1 night sufficient.

In Palermo we stayed at Delle Vittorie Suites and found it to be a great location and very comfortable. In Agrigento, we stayed at Dimore dei Templi and would recommend it as someplace very clean, with a lovely manager and good breakfast. Close to the Valley of Temples, but not really walkable. In Ortigia we stayed in an Air BnB apartment.

Kja - How nice to get some recommendations from you. I will take a look. Thanks so much.

Well, IMO, anyone who took the time to comment on what I believe was a 14 year old thread on restaurants deserves a bit of attention!

I am so glad I found it! 😀Where have you been travelling lately?

For Agrigento, make sure you stay in the area near the Temples not in the town center up above which is less than desirable.
We stayed in the Colleverde Park Hotel in a room with temple views. Good restaurant, excellent, helpful staff.
Siracusa, you only have three nights. I doubt you want to leave this wonderful town to visit other places. Wonderful meals at Locanda del Collegio and Regina Lucia.

Most recently, I went to Cambodia. I delighted in seeing the Khmer temples and ruins, as well as more recent sights. I especially treasured the gentle and generous people of this country -- heartbreaking and simultaneously heartwarming.

To keep you from searching high and low, I actually did post about restaurants in Sicily and other places I visited on that long-ago trip: https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...urants-715071/
FWIW, Per Bacco in Agrigento and Porta Marina in Ortigia still get positive reviews.

I'm not sure when HappyTrvlr was in Agrigento, but when I was there -- 2007 -- I found roaming the streets of Agrigento's old town, well above the temples, quite intriguing. It certainly wasn't polished, but it felt safe and I welcomed a chance to see a non-touristed medieval district. I'm sure it could have changed. If you have time for and an interest in such a ramble, you might ask your guide or hotel staff what they think of the idea before giving it a try.

Thank you. That is a good tip. When you say “less than desirable” , could you elaborate?

I am thinking of adding on a day to Siracusa.

We stayed out in the countryside but had dinner in Agrigento proper after touring the temples all day. The only thing "less than desirable" for me was trying to find parking and navigating the narrow streets. This was in 2011.

My favourites were the spectacular Byzantine mosaics in Palermo and Monreale, and the incredible Roman mosaics at the Villa Casale.

kja, when we went up to the town of Agrigento it was over run with homeless. Many were sleeping in the alleyways, lots of beggars. I have worked with the urban poor but the situation in Agrigento was extremely uncomfortable. We have lived in NYC and Chicago but sadly Agrigento made us very uneasy and thus we left.

I can understand your reaction, HappyTrvlr! That was certainly not my experience. It might help the OP to know when you were there.

i am surprised to hear this, we were in Agrigento in April 2022 and greatly enjoyed our walk around the upper town late afternoon/evening. It was just after Easter and lots of (local?) families out enjoying the beautiful weather. Narrow winding streets old buildings, we loved it. Don’t remember seeing beggars and homeless folks, certainly not in any significant numbers.

How wonderful! I have never been to anywhere in that region. I will check out your post on Sicily and might ask a couple of questions! Revive yet another classic 😀

good to know! Thanks for this.

Erice is more convenient Palermo than Ortigia for a day trip. Move it to Palermo and add the nearby and beautiful site of Segesta with it‘s ancient temple.

Glad to hear the upper city of Agrigento has improved. It was terrible when we visited right before COVID struck.

I will make that change. Thank you.

When and if you visit Erice from Palermo, do add Segesta. A highlight for us in Sicily!

Segesta is very special, IMO -- but do you have time for either Erice or Segesta? I'm not sanguine about that if you have only 3 nights in Palermo,

we too recommend the Colleverde Park Hotel for Agrigento. Very convenient and very close to the park.

I hope you are all still with me and can comment on this new itinerary.

Day 1 Palermo: arrive from Rome
Day 2: wander Palermo
Day 3: Cefalu day trip (full or half day)
Day 4: Monreale (thanks for the suggestion) - public transportation or shuttle transfer
Day 4 more of Palermo.
Day 5: check out and take bus to Agrigento, book evening sunset tour of the Valley of Temples
Day 6: Agrigento - suggestions? - do I check out and travel to next destination or stay another night
Day 7: take public transportation to Ortigia
Day 8: Ortigia
Day 9: Ortigia
Day 10: Ortigia Ragusa
Day 11: Ortigia Noto
Day 12: Ortigia
I then have 4 glorious days to fit in another place. I would love some suggestions! Do I go on to Taormina or Catania, add Trapani or another seaside beach town...





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Sounds like you've made some great progress in refining your itinerary!

Re: Day 6 -- If it helps you decide, I spent about 5 or 6 hours exploring the Valley of the Temples ... and I skipped most of the Temple of Zeuz. I also spent 1.5 or 2 hours at the archeological museum in Agrigento, and would have liked more time there. Also, I don't think you said when this trip will occur, but the Valley of the Temples has very little shade and it can get HOT. I suspect that many people would want a mid-day break. So two nights might be better ... but maybe you wouldn't want that much time at those sites.

IME, Taormina was beautiful ... but so overrun by day trippers as to be truly unpleasant. If you decide to go there, consider ways to stay away during the better part of the day. (Options would include a day tour to Mt. Etna and the Gola del Alcantara and/or a short visit to Castelmola.)

I didn't have time to visit Trapani or Erice; if I every go back to Sicily, I'll include them. Likewise, I didn't have time for Catania, though I suspect I would like it.

I did spent part of a day on Lipari; if you're looking for a beach experience, going to Lipari or one of the other Aeolians might make sense.

Other ideas: You might consider a day trip from Palermo to Segesta, which is quite different from Agrigento. I think you can get there by bus. And if you can find a way to get to the Villa Romana del Casale, I don't think you would regret it. Unfortunately, I don't think it's easy to reach without a car.

Hope that helps!

This is super helpful! Thank you ! Based on other advice you have so graciously shared, I think you are right about Agrigento. It will, indeed, be hot and I want to do the sunset tour to get a glimpse at night then decide if I want to return. The archaeological museum sounds fascinating and is now on my list.
I have Segesta on my list and I found an escorted tour to Villa Romana del Casale.

I am going to check out the flights from Taormina to see if I can fly back to Rome from there. Is it busy like Venice mid-day busy? I don't think it makes much sense to back track to Palermo just to get a flight back to Rome.

You found a way to visit the Villa Romana del Casale! Awesome. :)

I don't think there's an airport in Taormina. I think your choices are Palermo or Catania, but check.

In saying that Taormina was busy mid-day, I mean that even in 2007 (the year I visited), the streets were so crowded that I ended up with bruises on my sides from where tour groups smashed into me and pushed me against a wall. Literally! Sigh.

Yikes! Ok...and you are correct, no flights out of Taormina...so plan B - It does look so pretty. I guess the next best will be to Catania ...

I would spend my last day/night in Catania, giving me at least an afternoon to explore and be close to the airport for departure. (It's not what we did, but it's what in retrospect it's what I wish we had done because I suspect I would have liked Catania.) You could either take a night from Agrigento or a night from Ortigia. I would probably take the night from Agrigento, but I think you're not driving, right? In that case, maybe two nights in Agrigento would be better, just to give you some breathing room.

Thanks. I am torn between staying in Taormina or Catania for those last 4 days. Noted on Catania. I have read so many conflicting opinions.

Four days would be a LOT for Taormina, especially because getting there and back is a time-sink.

It might make sense to consider splitting your time? Maybe 2 nights in Catania to make sure you are ithere before your flight and 2 nights somewhere else. You have a lot of options, including those already noted.

I agree that 4 days in Taormina is a lot...

We are on the tail end of a two-week trip to Sicily right now, with a somewhat similar itinerary. We spent one night in Agrigento, so we could see the Valley of the Temples later in the day. We arrived in the city around 3 pm, and went into entered the temple complex around 4 pm. By the time of last admissions (7 pm), there were few people around and we had the Temple of Juno all to ourselves. We also spent a couple of hours at the archaeological museum when it opened the next morning. We stayed at I Segreti delle Valle and can highly recommend it. It is near the aforementioned Colleverde Park, but smaller - excellent breakfast and hospitality. It was a 10-15 minute walk from the B&B down to the east entrance of the Valley of the Temples, and the museum should be walkable as well (we had a car).

We loved Palermo and wish we had more time there. We also did a day trip to Cefalu, which is beautiful but was flooded with people. We went on a Sunday, so that may have made a difference. Also glad you found a way to see Villa Romana del Casale - it is fantastic. We spent a night in Piazza Armerina so that we could go see the mosaics late in the day. We are ending our trip in Ortigia and taking a train to the Catania airport for our (evening) flight out.

Oh, shoot, sorry, didn't notice your latest itinerary. What about two or three nights in Modica or Ragusa after Agrigento and before heading to Ortigia and then after Ortigia your final one or two nights in Catania? Is that too arduous on public transportation? But then by now you've probably already explored all your options.

We didn't go to Taormina--we found even Ortigia a bit touristy relative to our other stops in Sicily. But you will likely enjoy whatever you decide. And I can understand wanting to relax a bit.

I appreciate your post. I am still figuring things out. I am now thinking of stopping for a couple of nights in San Vito lo Capo…on my way to Agriento…Alternatively, Giardini Naxos after Ortigia.

I think I am overcomplicating !

IMO, Giardini Naxos is uninteresting. It would, however, give you access to Taormina, Mt. Etna, and Catania.

I am so torn…maybe 2 trips😀